


come tomorrow I'll be in the ocean (I'll be rising with the morning tide)

by amazingjemma



Series: undying, death-defying power of love [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Alternate Universe - Mythology, F/M, Mermaid!Jemma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 18:56:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5676916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazingjemma/pseuds/amazingjemma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo Fitz is a son of a drown sailor, who taught him not to trust beautiful but vicious creatures. But when Leo Fitz faces the most beautiful myth, he realizes that the tales his father told him were nothing but lies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So there is one song that inspired my to write this: holy water by laurel. But then I remembered start of time by Gabrielle Aplin and the last piece of puzzle made a picture perfect! This story just hit my muse, pretty hard, and here it is! I made a fanmix long ago, so if you want to listen to it, but this is completely different, something what I couldn't expect from myself. Also thanks SuperIrishBreakfastTea for beta-ing this piece. Love you, girl!

When he sees her for the first time, he thinks he is dreaming and she is a figment of his imagination. He takes a few deep breaths before stepping in the water and let ting it swallow him slowly.

 

The blue water looks like a broken mirror with fireflies on it, and he thinks it is the most beautiful phenomenon he ever saw. The night makes it more incredible and fantasy slowly turns into reality. He doesn't want this reality to stop.

 

He remembers the tales of his father about creatures like her but he is not afraid. He is not like his father, who was too aggressive towards these creatures. She seems so serene and harmless and he knows that she won't hurt him. He knows _they_ do not have weapons as humans have, but he knows that their voice can make a man drown. But he won't end like his father did, not this time and not today.

 

She is silent, looking absolutely stunning in the water. Her sly hazel eyes study him and make him go further into the ocean. She is a magnet. The moon is shining and she knows today is the best night for hunting but tonight she doesn't want to drown this handsome man down with her. Instead, she wants to go to the beach and spend a night like a normal creature, and not like... her.

 

She knows what kind of effect she may have on men, whose bones are mostly buried in the ocean's depths. Her parents always told her that her eyes are like jewels – attractive and dangerous but she knows that her _voice_ is her main weapon. She doesn't want to use it on him, though.

 

He is almost there. Almost in the ocean and she suddenly gasps and sinks down in the water, feeling this unfamiliar feeling in her chest. She sees a splinter in his hand and for the first time, _she_ is scared, not the man she is supposed to drown, though it doesn't look like he is afraid of her. Of course he is not. He is in awe of her, her silent beauty and her ability to attract men without using her voice.

 

He stops when she sinks down and now he sees her eyes only. They are glowing in the dark and he thinks he is in love. Only now he notices that he holds a wood splinter in his hand and takes a deep breath. He didn't mean to hurt her. Not _her_ . Not a beautiful, harmless creature.

 

_Not actually harmless,_ he thinks and holds his hand and the little wooden weapon falls down into the water and creates little waves around it. Then he looks at her again, waiting for her move.

 

_You won't hurt me?_ Her hazel eyes darts towards the sinking splinter and she disappears under the water and catches it, studying it carefully. It is sharp. Dangerous, perhaps. She looks out of the water and he is still standing there, looking at her and enjoying the feeling of the water around his body. She studies him for a while and then puts her hand with a stick above the water, her long dexterous fingers holding itpossessively . She waits a second, and then hands it to him, still too afraid to show her face.

 

He is more than surprised. She doesn't look like a woman, more like a girl who wants to play. He smiles when she disappears under the water and wonders if she will come back. A few seconds later she is in front of him again, looking at his little weapon with so much interest, that it makes him smile.

 

When she hands him his stick, he smiles wider and takes a step forward, acting as casual as he can. She is not scared of him, and he is not scared of her either. He knows that she won't hurt him when he takes a splinter from her hand and she stays there for a second. She smiles with her eyes and he _knows_ she considers him as a friend. With a little splash, she sinks down and all he can see in the darkness is her shadow, swimming away from him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is a little bit angsty, but not really. It's also rather long.  
> Also, this story has a sequel.  
> Comments make me really happy x  
> Thanks for reading!

The second time he sees her, it is in a storm and she looks terrified. He stays on the beach and watches her shadow swimming under the Scottish waters, here and there. Just watching her route makes him understand that she is scared of something and probably worried.

Her pace quickens with every gust of wind and he decides it's now or never. He starts taking his shirt off and hurries to the water.

She is scared of storms and black skies, and she knows what the consequences are to the place where he lives. She knows he is not safe here and she doesn't want him to suffer. Her true nature was shattered when she has met his kind blue eyes, full of adoration and hope and she thinks she is in love.

When she sees him entering cold water, she hisses and rushes to the shore to make him stop. But it looks like nothing can stop him; not strong wind; not cruel waves; not the coldness of Scottish waters. He goes deeper and deeper and she decides that it's too much. So she takes a deep breath and looks out of the water and it makes him stop.

_No!_ A silent scream in her eyes makes him stop and he stares at her agape. She knows something and this something worries him. He wants her to feel safe; he doesn't want her to feel pain. There is only one way to make her worries go away. So, he makes a few steps closer to her and then she reveals herself and he gasps.

She didn't want this, but this storm made her go to desperate measures. She feels chill on her naked body when she swims out of the water and shows him her face and she knows what he sees.

She is _beautiful_. The definition of beauty ended on his mother but it expanded when he sees her face: perfectly rounded, with a little nose and freckles over her face; parted pink lips and long swan neck. She couldn't be more beautiful and attractive, but she is and it terrifies him. It terrifies him how beautiful myth can be, how amazing the ocean is and how many secrets it keeps.

The storm is getting worse but he doesn't pay attention to the wind. It's her. Only her. Her sad hazel eyes study his blue ones and he knows he is in love. She opens and closes her mouth, like a _fish_ , and he wants nothing but sooth her pain and make her feel safe. He knows she wants him the same.

She swims right to him and he wonders what kind of secret she keeps, and what she wants to tell him. But he knows she won't use her voice because somehow they have learned to talk to each other wordlessly.

_It is not safe here. S_ he is so close to him that she feels the warmth of his body and somehow it calms her down. _You should go_.

_Not without you._ He feels the shore under his feet disappear and now he is swimming too. He thanks his mother for teaching him to swim after his father drowned. _I'll be beside you. The whole damn time._

She can see his attempt to keep her safe and it brings old forgotten feelings in her chest. She feels something impossible, strong enough to make her swim closer and lay down her hands on his bare chest and she hears his breath hitching. _Is this love?_

He knows she is scared but he makes sure she'll feel safe with him. The wind blows harder and the water is crashing around them. Her cold hands make him shiver but he doesn't mind. She looks so puzzled and terrified by human warmth and he carefully, not to spook her, places his hands on her bare back and she glances up at him with her big hazel eyes, full of confusion and curiosity. _Are you feeling it?_

He holds her close and she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes; she leans forward and her cold lips are on his hot ones and she knows that this is something what she wanted to feel centuries ago. He closes his eyes too and holds her closer, combining their naked chests into something powerful and magical. She whimpers into his lips and places her now warm hands on his shoulders, wanting him closer.

She feels something new, something unfamiliar and something warm. She hears the voices in her head but ignores them, letting herself getting lost in the most beautiful feeling she ever felt. _I love you._

He feels her getting warmer and he doesn't care about the storm anymore. What matters right now is her and her hands on his shoulders and her cold lips turning into hot and the way she wants to be closer. When she feels his lack of breath she pulls away from him and looks with a silent _“what is it_?” in her eyes at him. He opens his eyes and smiles, tucking a strand of her wet hair behind her ear and she looks like a human to him now. So fragile, like one of these porcelain dolls in his mother's collection.

He wonders if she can go out on the beach but then she looks sadly at him and her lips curve into a sad smile. _I can't_. He nods but smiles anyway, looking at her with so much affection that she wants to be human. She wants to be a human, not a mythical creature that she is now. Somehow he feels her worries and kisses her again, making her disappear in this blissful moment of pure affection. _Take me with you._

She feels a wet track on her cheek and pulls away, swimming away from him. She is scared. She doesn't know what it is. She never cried before. She wipes salt water with her hand and looks up at him, staring expectedly. _Are you sure?_

He smiles and swims to her, offers his hand and she waits. The storm is getting stronger every minute but she doesn't have time. She knows the storm will destroy the shore and she won't be able to see him anymore. She knows that he is human and she is a mermaid. She weighs her choices and in the end she swims to him and once more, she places her hands on his shoulder. _I want to feel it again. Will you show me?_

He smiles and scoots her closer, their bare chests crashing again and he kisses her with so much desperation, that she knows she can cross seven oceans for him. _I want it to stop._ He kisses her slowly now and she feels the last blow of the wind and the waves around them are calming down and it makes her smile into the kiss. He hears the splash of the water and when he opens his eyes, she is smiling and looking happy. He hears the splash one more time and on the corner of his eyes he sees her shiny golden tail and can't help but lets out a laugh. She swims away a little and looks around. Black clouds are becoming white ones and she can't help but giggle. She closes her mouth with her hand and her eyes dart to him but he is looking at her lovingly and she knows she can swim over the whole planet, when his blue eyes look at her like that.

She lets herself laugh and she swims away more just to play in the water and be happy. She feels the warmth of the sun and looks up at the sky, watching the sun come out. He is looking at her in delight and wonders what other kind of powers she has, if she could stop a damn storm from destroying the place he lives in.

He remembers his father's tales about cruel and disgusting creatures – _mermaids_ – and thinks that his father was wrong. Not all mermaids are vicious. It's just not all mermaids have experienced love and affection. And he knows that she is not like the others. After all, she has shown it to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are more than appreciated x  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
